NEW RELEASES

WORLD SAXOPHONE QUARTET

“Moving Right Along”

Black Saint

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The World Saxophone Quartet finessed the departure of chief composer Julius Hemphill by recording with African drummers on its last album four years ago. With Eric Person now in the lineup (veteran James Spaulding is featured on two tracks here), the group returns with more focus on sonorous ensemble harmonies and riff-anchored pieces than fierce collective improvisations or the dense harmonic intricacy of Hemphill’s works. The net gain in accessibility is counterbalanced by a relative lack of challenge--with nearly two decades under its belt, the World Saxophone Quartet may no longer be stretching out into new musical frontiers.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent).